Key operated safety for firearms



July 5, 1966 F. T. GREEN 3,258,871

KEY OPERATED SAFETY FOR FIREARMS Filed Aug. 4, 1965 INVENTOR FRANK T- GREEN ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,258,871 1 KEY OPERATED SAFETY FOR FIREARMS Frank T. Green, Haydenville, Mass., assignor to Noble Manufacturing Co., Inc., Haydenville, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Aug. 4, 1965, Ser. No. 477,141 6 Claims. (Cl. 4270) This invention relates to a new key-operated safety lock for firearms. This lock has application to any kind of a firearm whether a revolver, automatic weapon, rifle, shotgun, etc.

The principal object of the invention resides in the provision of a lock which acts directly on the trigger and holds the trigger in fixed position so that it cannot move toward firing position, by means of a lever bearing on the trigger. There is a movable cam which is controlled by a key and which cannot be turned without the key, but which upon being turned moves the safety lever back out of its operative safety position so that the trigger may be moved to firing position.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a key-operated safety lock for firearms as above described in which the safety lever is movable in the opposite direction as for instance by the cam and engages the trigger itself and holds it, the cam being of such a construction that it forces the safety lever toward safety position as well as away from safety position.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows the invention with the parts in trigger safe position, and

FIG. 2 shows the parts in firing position.

In disclosing the present invention only so much is shown as will enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, all extraneous matter being omitted and no particular type of firearm being illustrated. For instance, the trigger is indicated in general by the reference character 10 and it may for instance pivot on a fixed pivot-pin 12 held in the receiver of the firearm or on the frame of a pistol as may .be conventional. This trigger moves in a direction to fire, in this case clockwise, releasing a conventional sear, or it may be the hammer, by means not shown but well understood in the art, and in most cases there will be a trigger spring 14 mounted in a portion of the frame here indicated at 16 to return the trigger to its non-firing position when it is released. In this case of course the sear, or the hammer as the case may be, are capable of moving into position where they are reset for the next shot, as by conventional sear or trigger springs, etc.

Arranged in the receiver or in the frame of the pistol as the case may be, is the safety lever which is indicated generally at 20 mounted on a fixed pivot-pin 22. This lever is normally urged in a counterclockwise direction by means of a spring 24. The safety lever 20 is provided with a downwardly extending spur 26 having two surfaces 28 and 30 which converge in a downward direction as shown. Intermediate the pivot 22 and the projection 26 is a forwardly projecting shoulder indicated at 32, this shoulder extending toward the trigger 10 which in this case is provided with a rounded projection at 34.

If the safety lever 20 is held in the position of FIG. 1, i.e., against motion in a clockwise direction, the shoulder 32 engages the projection 34 and effectively prevents the trigger 10 from moving in a clockwise direction, i.e, to a firing position. On the other hand, if the safety lever 20 is moved slightly in a clockwise direction to release shoulder 32 from projection 34, then the trigger is free to move against the action of spring 14 to a firing position.

There is provided a key-operated generally cylindrical cam which is generally indicated by the reference numeral 36. This cam may be arranged in the trigger plate, on the frame, in any convenient position, in cooperative relation to projection 26. This cam is mounted on a fixed central axis to turn in a counterclockwise direction from the position shown in FIG. 1 to the position shown in FIG. 2 and back again, and it is provided with a di ametrical surface 38 which is actually the cam surface, and extends radially to each side of the axis of the cam.

Any kind of conventional key-operated lock or the like may be used so that this cam can only be turned by the use of a key which could be inserted for instance in the slot 40 for this purpose, the tumblers being located in the body of the cam in a conventional manner.

The cam surface at 38 will be seen to form a stop in FIG. 1 so that the safety lever 20 cannot move in a clockwise direction. However by inserting the key and operating the lock, releasing the cam for rotary motion from the FIG. 1 position to the FIG. 2 position, it will be seen that the surface at 38 will engage the surface at 28 and positively move the safety lever 20 in a clockwise direction against the action of its spring 24; and when it reaches the FIG. 2 position, the trigger is in condition to be moved in a clockwise direction in order to fire the firearm.

The cam will hold the safety lock 20 in this position against the action of spring 24 at all times until the key is once more utilized in order to turn the cam back to the FIG. 1 position, in which case surface 38 engages face 30 of projection 26 and forces the safety lever back into the position of FIG. 1 where the shoulder at 32 engages the rounded projection 34 forcibly holding the trigger in fixed position as for instance against the stop 18.

This invention has been illustrated in such a way as to cause the locking lever 26 to directly engage a part of the trigger. However, in many cases a scar is interposed to hold the trigger in cocked condition and in this case the lever 26 could just as well be engaged to hold the sear against being released inasmuch as a conventional sear is pivoted in much the same manner as the illustration of the trigger pivot 12 in the present case.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what I claim is:

1. A safety for a firearm having firing mechanism and movable means to actuate the same, a locking safety lever, means pivoting said locking lever in direction toward and away from said firearm actuating means, said lever engaging the latter in one position and holding the same against motion toward firing position, said lever having a position of release for said actuating means wherein the latter may be moved to firing position, and said locking lever pivoting means including a rotatable key-actuated cam, a cam surface thereon, said cam surface having a position engaging said lever in one position thereof and holding it fixed to hold the firearm actuating means against motion, said cam having a second position releasing said safety lever and engaging the same and moving it to a position releasing the firearm actuating means.

2. The safety for a firearm as recited in claim 1 wherein said lever includes a pair of surfaces one of which is engaged by the cam surface in one position thereof and the other of which is engaged by said cam surface in the opposite position thereof.

3. The safety for a firearm as recited in claim 1 wherein said lever includes a pair of surfaces one of which is engaged by the cam surface in one position thereof and the other of which is engaged by said cam surface in the opposite position thereof, said surfaces generally converging in a direction toward the cam, the cam being located adjacent said surfaces.

4. A safety device for a firearm having a trigger, means pivotally mounting said trigger so that it may be manually moved from inoperative to firing position, a safety lever, means pivotally mounting said safety lever, means on said safety lever engaging said trigger to hold it in inoperative position, and a pair of oppositely facing surfaces on said lever, a rotatable key-operated cam, said cam having a surface selectively engaging said opposite surfaces on the safety lever for engaging and moving the safety lever toward a position wherein said trigger engaging means engages said trigger to hold it fixed, said cam surface being movable to a position wherein it engages the other surface on said safety lever and moves it and the trigger engaging means out of engagement with said trigger.

5. The safety device of claim 4 in which said cam is in the form of a cylinder and the cam surface thereon extends generally radially with respect thereto, said cylindrical cam being mounted on a fixed axis.

6. The safety device of claim 4 in which said cam is in the form of a cylinder and the cam surface thereon extends generally radially with respect thereto, said cylindrical cam being mounted on a fixed axis, the oppositely facing surfaces on the lever terminating generally uniformly adjacent the cam surf-ace.

References Cited by the Applicant UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,945,316 7/1960 Mulno. 2,994,981 8/1961 Carrigan.

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner. 

1. A SAFETY FOR A FIREARM HAVING FIRING MECHANISM AND MOVABLE MEANS TO ACTUATE THE SAME, A LOCKING SAFETY LEVER, MEANS PIVOTING SAID LOCKING LEVER IN DIRECTION TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID FIREARM ACTUATING MEANS, SAID LEVER ENGAGING THE LATTER IN ONE POSITION AND HOLDING THE SAME AGAINST MOTION TOWARD FIRING POSITION, SAID LEVER HAVING A POSITION OF RELEASE FOR SAID ACTUATING MEANS WHEREIN THE LATTER MAY BE MOVED TO FIRING POSITION, AND SAID LOCKING LEVER PIVOTING MEANS INCLUDING A ROTATABLE KEY-ACTUATED CAM, A CAM SURFACE THEREON, SAID CAM SURFACE HAVING A POSITION ENGAGING SAID LEVER IN ONE POSITION THEREOF AND HOLDING IT FIXED TO HOLD THE FIREARM ACTUATING MEANS AGAINST MOTION, SAID CAM HAVING A SECOND POSITION RELEASING SAID SAFETY LEVER AND ENGAGING THE SAME AND MOVING IT TO A POSITION RELEASING THE FIREARM ACTUATING MEANS. 